Identification Properties
LUSTER
The shine in
reflected
light
LUSTER TERM DESCRIPTION
adamantine very brilliant - as in diamond
resinous
looks like resin or hardened
tree sap
vitreous
glassy, but not as shiny as
diamond
metallic looks like metal
silky has a smooth and fibrous sheen
pearly smooth and iridescent
greasy looks like it's coated with oil
earthy looks like dirt
LUSTER
Glassy
Adamantine
Greasy
Identification Properties
CRYSTAL SHAPE
Hard to find
Must have room to
grow
Crystal Systems
Cubic
Orthorhombic
Tetragonal
Triclinic
Hexagonal
Monoclinic
CRYSTAL SHAPE
Identification Properties
STREAK
Color of its powder
Does not change
Metallic: as dark as
sample
Nonmetallic: white to
colorless
Streak Plate
Identification Properties
CLEAVAGE
Tendency to split easily
or break along flat
surfaces
Mica 1 direction
FRACTURE
Break on uneven
surfaces
Conchoidal - obsidian
Identification Properties
HARDNESS
Resistance to being
scratched
Mohs’ Scale of
Hardness
Mohs’ Scale of Hardness
1 - Talc fingernail scratches it easily
2 - Gypsum fingernail scratches it
3 - Calcite copper penny just scratches it
4 - Fluorite steel knife scratches it easily
5 Apatite steel knife scratches it
6 Feldspar steel knife does not scratch it
easily; it scratches window glass
Mohs’ Scale of Hardness
7 Quartz hardest common mineral; it
scratches steel and hard glass easily
8 Topaz harder than any common
mineral
9 Corundum it scratches topaz
10 Diamond hardest of all minerals
Hardness:
resistance of
a mineral to
abrasion
scratching
Special Identification Properties
Fluorescence
Special Identification Properties
Magnetism
Magnetite
Special Identification Properties
Taste
This will quickly identify the mineral halite (salt). If you
are new to this process you must use this one with caution,
as you never know what the unknown may be.
Often, you may need to resort to this method (until you
more fully understand other identifying traits) to
differentiate halite from calcite.
If you do taste the sample (especially in a class
environment) you should realize that it has been handled
by and probably tasted by hundreds of others.
Minerals
Chalcopyrite
Quartz
Talc
Jasper
Topaz
Gypsum
Hematite
Galena
Calcite
Amber
Muscovite
Fluorite
Malachite
Biotite
Apatite
Halite
Magnetite
Feldspar
Rocks and the Rock Cycle
Prof. Dr. Ziad Abu-Hamatteh
Faculty of Engineering Technology
Al-Balqa’ Applied University
Rocks and the Rock Cycle
“The present is the key to the past”
Geologic processes that happen today happened
in the past
Earth’s present physical features were formed
by these processes